7 Reasons Why Drinking Water After Waking Up is A Good Idea

In Japan, it is common practice to drink two full glasses of water upon waking. It’s said have the ability to fully cure a number of diseases, including cancer, as well as provide a host of other benefits. And I think they may be on to something.

As a nation, Japan has the overall greatest longevity, currently hosting over 50,000 centenarians, or 100+ year olds. Whether it’s the water practice or something in the tea they drink, we can learn a few tricks from the Japanese.

So regardless if this practice will save your life as they believe, here a look at many of the other proven benefits of drinking two full glasses of water upon waking.

1) It rehydrates your dehydrated body

When you wake up after a long sleep, your body is naturally dehydrated. No matter how much water you drank the day before, you have used up your stores and it’s time to refill the tank.

The first thing drinking water after waking up will do is provide your cells with much needed, life-giving water.

Compare this to the norm; drinking a 16 oz. cup of coffee, which will further dehydrate your already thirsty body.

Partaking in this immediate rehydration will have major noticeable benefits including:

– Feeling more refreshed

– Having more natural energy throughout the morning

– Being healthier & happier

2) Flushes out toxins

After nourishing your cells, drinking water after waking up will flush unwanted toxins out of your body.

While you sleep your body repairs itself, replenishes energy and balances hormones. The result is toxins and other waste materials being released and waiting to be flushed out.

After clearing your body of these toxins, you will feel great and be able to absorb more nutrients from a well-balanced breakfast.

This also leads to clear skin and better overall well being.

3) Fires up your metabolism

Drinking water is a crucial tactic when it comes to weight loss. But drinking water after waking up is the most optimal way to do it.

Think of drinking water after waking up as an alarm clock for your metabolism. This morning water kick starts your metabolism & has been proven to increase your calorie burning potential throughout the day.

Not only that, but water actually fills you up & curbs your appetite, allowing you to make smarter choices for your breakfast.

These smart choices tend to roll over to smarter choices throughout the day. If you know anything about healthy eating, then you know that this momentum is so powerful. There’s no better way to start that momentum than with a tall glass of delicious water.

4) Fuels your brain

A morning glass of water will leave you feeling sharp and clear throughout the day, giving you an edge over all the dehydrated zombies you’ll encounter.

5) Keeps you regular & relieves constipation

The main cause of constipation is dehydration.

Drinking water when you wake up will not only cure dehydration but it will help relieve constipation, help to keep you regular and promote a morning bowel movement. This is a great way to start the day.

6) Prevents and cures disease

As stated above, in Japan it is believed that drinking water this way can cure even the harshest diseases over time. I am not a scientist, or a doctor, but what I do know is that doing this will certainly help cure disease and can certainly help prevent them, even if the effects are subtle.

Something that is so healthy and good for you, if not performing miracles, is going to have a positive impact on your health.

One of my biggest beliefs is to control what you can, and don’t worry about the rest. Something like drinking a glass of water when you wake up is certainly under your control, so why not do it.

7) Its completely refreshing

Last, but certainly not least, the 7th reason you should partake in the practice of drinking water after waking up is because of how good and refreshed it will make you feel. There really is nothing more refreshing than waking up, dry mouthed, and enjoying life’s purest substance.

It revitalizes me, and I feel crisp and clean afterwards.

That, a nice run, a hot shower & juice from my Breville Juicer starts me off feeling so refreshed for the day. I really can’t recommend it enough.

So how much water should I drink?

If this sounds like something you are into that great. But how much water should you drink to reap the benefits?

The amount varies around the web. In the Japanese healing protocol it is noted that you should drink 4 160mL glasses of water upon waking. This translates to 20 oz. of water. To give you a good idea, that’s 1/3rd of a 2 liter coke, or 2.5 cups of water.

This is a pretty decent amount of water, so start small if you want. Right now I slug down two tall glasses from my Zero Water Filter when I wake up. I’ve got it chilling right next to my bed at room temperature.

“Zero water,” is from the inexpensive Zero Water Filter that provides cleaner than bottled water at 000 PPM (parts per million) on the TDS meter. My tap water was at 348 PPM and Poland spring is at 58 PPM.

This definitely helps me, and I do recommend the filter, it has been a great purchase and save me a lot of money on bottled water.

But regardless, any amount of water, whether filtered or not, is better than none.

Warm or cold?

Sorry to say this, but warm. Preferably body temperature! I know this is not always feasible to drink two 98 degree glasses of water when you wake up so opt for room temperature.

Cold water needs to be heated up to core temp by the body, expending energy. Warm water allows your body to maintain homeostasis, optimally flushing out toxins and replenishing the cells. A good way to think of it is “pouring cold water over a hot car engine,” but maybe a little less extreme.

All this being said, don’t read too much into it. I often drink cold water waking up and it is not going to be a deal breaker!

Can I eat right away?

You should wait at least 15 minutes after drinking your water to eat. The optimal length in Japanese culture is to wait 45 minutes until eating. The “exact protocol” of the Japanese water cure is as followed:

1) As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth (don’t read into this), drink 4 × 160mL glasses of water

2) Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minutes

3) After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4) After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours – i.e. you can drink straight after a meal (within the first 15 minutes) but not for 2 hours after that.

5) Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

Reader Testimonials

Hi! I’ve been doing this for many years now. Proof that it really works> I had a full blood chemistry after 30 days of drinking just 2 glasses upon waking up, not 4 but 2. The results: my triglycerides went down to 37, cholesterol, blood sugar, SGPT and the rest were within the allowable lower range. I did not change anything in my daily routine except drinking 2 glasses of water upon waking up. It really does improve one’s health and well-being. Have a great day! Cheers! – Cindy

Haters will hate… Bottom line is I put this in my morning routine and I felt 100% better after the first week!! -RC

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Sean is a true entrepreneur. After turning his life around after struggling with anxiety and chronic fatigue syndrome he now dedicates his life to being his best self and helping others do the same. Learn more about him and his projects at SeanRussell.me

106 COMMENTS

It’s as if you’re making statements that are completely unfounded and only chose to include them because it’s what you BELIEVE… That’s no way to write an article about health. You need sources man.

I hate to be the Debbie downer but a few things bother me about this article that came up at the new spot for my Google search of drinking water in the morning.

Your first point is a great one. Loved it.

Your second point though is totally unfounded. There’s no evidence that during sleep your body builds up a “reserve” of toxins from the byproducts of releasing hormones. Your kidneys will produce the urine and function how they need to function no matter what. All drinking water will do is dilute the solution.

Your third point. Water doesn’t “fire up your metabolism” either. Your metabolism (or your TDEE) isn’t effected by much. Exercise and new, denser muscles, which requires more energy to maintain, barely has any noticeable effect on your metabolism. Eating more meals per day or eating less meals per day, have no noticeable effects on metabolism. It is as if the only real conditions that have any noticeable effects on metabolism are diabetes and hyper/hypothyroidism.

Your 6th point is great but still unfounded. While I BELIEVE the same thing about water it would be nice to have some sources that might back this claim up.

Your 7th point about how you should drink warm water over cold water totally contradicts your third point of how drinking water increases your metabolism. You state that drinking cold water burns energy because it needs to be heated to body temperature before it can be absorbed and that your body prefers to maintain homeostasis. Your body will maintain homeostasis either way. While it may slow down absorption, cold water isn’t going to change that and any possible metabolism raising effects that drinking water may have had (noticeable or not) are now less likely.

While drinking water can help you lose weight it must be understood that it is not the water itself that helps you lose weight. It’s the drink of choice that water is is replacing that is helping you lose weight. Water does not raise your metabolism it is simply a zero calorie drink that can take the place of a 100-500 calorie drink. Some Starbucks coffee’s have well over 400 calories.

Also drinking coffee hydrates you as well. It doesn’t dehydrate you MORE just because it is a diuretic. Coffee is like… 99.9 percent water itself. Just because it is brown doesn’t change the fact that your body will absorb the h20 molecules and use them the way they were meant to be used. Drinking a diuretic such as caffeine simply negates a tiny bit of the, mostly water, drink that your currently sipping on, due to the increased urine output. This increased urine output doesn’t, in most cases, supersede the amount of water that is in whatever drink of choice.

To wrap things up i guess some supporting evidence for such Important claims about health might be nice.

Yes sources would have been good. I didn’t make this up out of thin air, but I also was not strong at sourcing when i created this article.

While some of these may be trivial. I think that drinking water when waking and in general is something people need to do more of. (So many people are chronically dehydrated in modern society and it attributes to many diseases.)

So basically I think all the advice in this article will help improve peoples health. Health facts aside (There is different information everywhere. Like some people thinking cholesterol is good and some thinking it is bad.) This article will help improve people health.

So I stand by it.

I appreciate your comment though, there is no doubt you know what you are talking about.

I know for a fact that at least personally, when I slug down a whole bottle of water first thing in the morning it give me a jolt of energy. Not a coffee jolt. A clean natural jump start. There’s lots of was to shot down all of this but a human beings made up of mostly water its only common sense. We can live for weeks without food. No water? Your finished in a few days.

I only have time to make a couple of responses to your comments about the article. Coffee can cause dehydration because it acts as a diuretic . This is well documented in many places on the web. So being 99% water has nothing to do with its dehydrating properties. Therefore it is a bad choice if you are trying to hydrate. My second point is not so much a response, but to substantiate the value of drinking water in the morning. I have had an issue with my fasting blood sugar levels being too high 105-117. This would indicate a prediabetes condition. This morning I took my fasting bg and it was 108. I drank 6-8oz water waited 30 minutes and my bg went down to 82. Still fasting I took a reading at about 3-1/2 hours and it had dropped to 79. The longer I wait to drink water the higher my blood sugar will go. At 16 hours fasting and not drinking I once had a bg of 130. 108-79=29 points reduction which is huge. I have read where many diabetics have trouble with fasting bg and can’t seem to control it even with medication. A 30% drop from drinking 6 oz of water is tremendous and all things considered, is far superior to any medication.

You have no sources either.You say that exercises and new muscle mass don’t increase metabolism, exercise causes you to burn energy and therefore by definition increases metabolism. Maintenance of more muscle mass causes your body to use more energy and the same argument applies. A bodybuilder will burn many more calories in resting state than someone that doesn’t exercise.Your point about eating more meals not increasing metabolism is also untrue.

Nice article!i just started the water therapy and guess what it feels really great. I wake up and start my day off with 1 liter of water and damn i feel good.

dude dont bother yourself trying to reply the einsteins that dont ever come up with solutions but are intelligent(tongue in cheek) enough to debunk helpfull efforts.

all i know is whether you article has proof or not.water is so natural and God given .The only liquid which i know that can be drank without fear of adverser results.Haven said that ,too much of everything we all know is bad.But i suggest you give it a try,start your day with water

Sean not to worry mate, I think Evan is one the LinkedIn MBA all stars. He cannot help himself in showing everybody how friggin smart he is and how the rest of us are well not so smart. Well Dr. Evan how you pop back to LinkedIn and pump out some of your articles to show all the other hyper educated LinkedIn MBA hotshots how awesome you are. For gods sake mate it’s an article about drinking water and you have to jump in and write a friggin masters paper, are you for real.

“Your third point. Water doesn’t “fire up your metabolism” either. Your metabolism (or your TDEE) isn’t effected by much. Exercise and new, denser muscles, which requires more energy to maintain, barely has any noticeable effect on your metabolism. Eating more meals per day or eating less meals per day, have no noticeable effects on metabolism. It is as if the only real conditions that have any noticeable effects on metabolism are diabetes and hyper/hypothyroidism.”

Actually, Sean set the stage for the critique. I wonder why he rounded up the article with statements that he was expecting people to counter his writeup? You just wrote a lovely article, leave it at that, man!

Thank you for writing the article. Whether you have sources or “scientific” evidence to support your ‘claims’ or not….the bottom line is…….IT CAN’T HURT AND IT’S FREE….. unlike most fad diets, expensive pills, even with vitamin pills you really don’t know what you’re putting into your body. Over the counter pain pills which have sources and scientific evidence to support support regular use over time causes strain on your liver and kidneys….thanks again sir…it’s 5:30th and I’m on my second glass. ..lol

An excellent article and very interactive. Despite what others say, what you stated does make logical sense and there is definitely no downside to drinking a lot water anyway. Honestly I will quicker follow anything the Japanese does with regards to health than anyone else. Everyone’s always a critic. Thanks for the information. 🙂

Thanks for the article I’m already an ardent beliver of this therapy, I drink 1 liter of water every morning upon waking up and I must say its been very helpful makes me feel alive and having regular bowel movement which wasn’t so before the therapy, though it wasn’t easy at first its like punishment cos I had to use the bathroom severally but now my body has gotten used to it its no longer work. Its doesn’t hurt to do this its free so why won’t I just do it and stop waiting for it to be scientifically proven. Thank u once more

I actually read something similar to what you stated on Facebook. One of my friends argued me down that it was a hoax. I have been doing it for over a week now and I feel a whole lot better. Furthermore, I am an educational Dr. which certifies me to do the research, so if it’s sources you need. I will look for them and give them to you. Realistically, I believe the proof is in how much better I am feeling. When I decided to research what my friend called a “hoax”, I came across this. I am glad I did.

I’m wondering why you need to drink this water before brushing teeth? Could it be that the bacteria that have built up in the mouth might possibly be beneficial to relocate to your stomach/intestinal tract?

I seem to remember reading that good dental hygiene (incl flossing) is a raised factor in those with healthy longevity, so I’d say that it’s probably best to brush/floss before drinking the water as I doubt that overnight mouth bacteria are particularly friendly to our insides (but that’s just a gut feeling…)Having said that, that could again be a case of confirmation bias, in that more affluent, health-conscious, educated people who tend to live longer, are more likely to look after themselves generally well, including oral hygiene.As others have said, nobody’s trying to sell anybody anything (unlike homeopathy…) and it sure as hell can’t do any harm (also like homeopathy, unless one shuns proven medicine in its favour, but this water is free and easy for us lucky westerners remember – at least for now….)

HiThank you very much for the idea my mom taught me to drink water when I wake up and I used to see my late grandma and many people around the village doing the same. It does not cost us a cent but a healthy life…hey thanks once again….

I just had a thought to know drinking water in the morning. I am really excited when I read this blog as I am really motivated. Good info shared on the right spirit. keep doing greater things. Thanks a lot:-)

This is in response to Evan who felt its was important to site source. There are several other articles that explained the EXACT same benefits of drinking water in the morning WITH citations. Its evident that citing or not citing doesn’t make this article any less true and informative.

me and my brother is starting doing it.it is really helpful in flashing ut toxins too. and it feels refreshing every time.I just find it hard in drinking 4 cups in the morning, it seems my stomach is bloated…. but still do it….^__^

I have also been drinking 2 glasses of water first thing in the morning for quite some time now and I feel just great after and right throughout the day. It even helped me to easily consume my 2-3 litres of water for the day. It really does work people. Eating healthy with little exercise can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. I am nearly 51 and feel energized each day.

Hi! I’ve been doing this for many years now. Proof that it really works> I had a full blood chemistry after 30 days of drinking just 2 glasses upon waking up, not 4 but 2. The results: my triglycerides went down to 37, cholesterol, blood sugar, SGPT and the rest were within the allowable lower range. I did not change anything in my daily routine except drinking 2 glasses of water upon waking up. It really does improve one’s health and well-being. Have a great day! Cheers!

It’s alright Sean, I don’t mind. You may add my testimony. If only the doubters would just try it for 30 days and have their blood chemistry checked before and after. They would really see the difference and improvement in their health. And that means goodbye to the maintenance meds…. Cheers and let’s keep on drinking water!!!

If I drink 2glasses of water after waking up will be straight or I can drink it half at first den after a min the half of the glass again, the important is I can drink 2glasses of water after waking up

I think this is a great article. Actually, my nutritionist said that I should drink water first thing in the morning. I’ll be honest, I haven’t done it yet, but I am definitely going to start. I know one thing, it definitely can’t hurt!

Drinking too much water can kill you, but this is not a recommendation to drink 2+ gallons a day or anything like that. I don’t think you have to worry about it sticking to a gallon a day. Some recommend sprinkling some sisal in your water to help with retention. Google it.

I just want to say that i have been doing this for 3 months now, thanks to my girlfriend in Germany. Since i have started, my blood pressure has dropped back to normal, my body fat percentage has dropped, my skin has cleared, and i have had better digestive problems. So it really works

I started this water therapy upon waking up in the morning for a week now and my blood sugar count dropped to normal and the aches and pains I felt around my neck and hips just disappeared. For whatever reason, I will continue this morning ritual because of the positive changes happening to my health. Thank you for the info!

Water therapy first thing in the morning has really changed my life. I used to spend a good hour or two sitting on the pot trying to grunt out a hard, measly, angry nugget, that’s how badly I was constipated. But ever since reading this article and learning to up-end 2 liters into my stank pooch every morning I have been pooping like a champ!

So ladies, if you want to keep things fresh “downstairs” just remember to sprinkle a box of baking soda in the front door as you go to bed at night and then squirt 2 liters of water into your back door first thing upon waking. Not only will you keep things moving but you’ll smell like a daisy. 🙂

[…] First thing you need to do after you get up is to drink a glass of water. There are a lot of different opinions, on whether this water should be cold or warm. But the main idea of this glass is one for all – drinking water after waking up will flush unwanted toxins out of your body. At least, this is my main reason. Personally I drink room temperature filtered water. More on this topic here. […]

[…] So, I’ve become a huge fan of water, particularly lemon water. Warm lemon water in the morning wakes up me up and gets my day started on the right note. It wakes me up (sans the caffeine jitters I get from coffee) and rehydrates me after my 8 hours of shut eye! […]

[…] drinker, once said that he still drinks water first thing in the mornings. He said it was like the sun kissing his face. Ok, ok, maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration (and we were probably drinking red […]

[…] The act of drinking water at the start of your day will rejuvenate you, particularly because the act of sleeping for multiple hours dries out your body and when you wake up, you’re naturally dehydrated. Most of your body is water, and your brain is made up of about 75% water. Restoring the water reserves will give your cells the much-needed water to carry out their functions at an optimal level. There are multiple benefits to drinking water in the morning. […]

[…] When you’re sleeping, your body is in repair and recovery mode, Batayneh says. During this time, your immune system is hard at work ridding your body of toxins. By drinking enough water, you can speed up the process in which your body flushes those toxins. […]

[…] When you’re sleeping, your body is in repair and recovery mode, Batayneh says. During this time, your immune system is hard at work ridding your body of toxins. By drinking enough water, you can speed up the process in which your body flushes those toxins. […]

[…] When you’re sleeping, your physique is in correct and recovery mode, Batayneh says. During this time, your defence complement is hard during work ridding your physique of toxins. By celebration adequate water, we can speed adult a slight in that your physique flushes those toxins. […]

Hey,Thanks for sharing. I started this water medical aid upon rousing within the morning for per week currently and my blood glucose count born to traditional and also the aches and pains I felt around my neck and hips simply disappeared. For no matter reason, I will be able to continue this morning ritual due to the positive changes happening to my health. see you again.

Excellent write up and to anyone trying to say I want sources & facts then look it up. My coach, trainer and nutritionist swears by this and has sent many studies about positive effects of drinking water first thing. Pretty much most people are walking around are dehydrated and that is just a fact. All the tips are great other then I prefer to drink cold water when I first wake, breakfast starts about 40 min later and then I need to drink at least 3 litres of water a day more If I am in the gym or playing in a beach volleyball tourney. I never used to drink lots of water and this has made such a big difference in my life, I am stronger & in better shape at 43 then I was at 23 and I believe along with eating right, working out, water is a big reason for it. So I won’t mention the guys name that wanted to argue this so much but instead of writing comments about why you think he is wrong maybe grab a book, look up hundreds of articles about why this is so good for you. I recommend watching food matters on netflix as well. Now time for another glass of water.

Even most Indians follow this water therapy early in the morning ( backed by Ayurveda- an ancient Indian science ) and I know for sure my grand parents, aunts and uncles follow it too, even I do and I can say at least in my case that it does have good health benefits… cures constipation for sure, cures fatigue apart from other seemingly not so harmful diseases, which can effect your general well being.

Drinking a glass or two of water right when you wake up, however, is a good way. Although it is a good source of antioxidants, it is also dehydrating. Because water aids in both body regulation and brain function, it is also… After a long period without anything to eat or drink, the first thing you consume ..

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